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Djoko offers himself a new record while waiting for another...
Winner of Carlos Alcaraz Friday in the semifinals of Roland-Garros, Novak Djokovic has qualified for his 34th Grand Slam final. A new record for the insatiable Serb, which equals the mark of the former queen of women's tennis Chris Evert. In men's tennis, he is now well ahead of Rafael Nadal and his 30 finals. But it is another record that the Serb will want to seek on Sunday in the final. That of Grand Slam titles with a 23rd title more than ever in his sights.
Alcaraz and Djokovic's first two sets
Djokovic and Alcaraz put on a fabulous show in the first two sets. The duration of the first two acts, two hours and ten minutes, tells part of the fight between Alcaraz and Djokovic on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The Serb played from the outset at a stratospheric level. His demonic game intelligence struck again. But the Murcian, admirable in will, ended up equalizing at a set everywhere by converting the first of eleven break balls he had obtained since the beginning of the match. The fight was then sumptuous. We were heading for a cult and historic match. But Alcaraz's body unfortunately decided otherwise. These first two sets will remain in any case in the memories.
The mutant point of Alcaraz
Before the cramp/injury of the phenomenon Carlos Alcaraz, completely changed the physiognomy of the meeting, the two men regaled the Philippe-Chatrier. Led a set to zero by the Serb, Alcaraz found his eternal smile at the beginning of the second set thanks to an anthology point. A forehand pass by turning that touches the line at 1-1, to lead 30-0. A point from elsewhere that also made Djokovic smile, stunned like the spectators of Philippe Chatrier. Overwhelmed by a lob, the Spaniard hit his ankle with his back to the court to get a winning pass. Sublime.
Casper Ruud, so solid
The discreet Norwegian outclassed Alexander Zverev on Friday. A rock-solid Ruud who qualified for his second consecutive final at Porte d'Auteuil. The German never managed to endanger the Norwegian who gave nothing and took advantage of the many mistakes of the 27th in the world. Mine of nothing, the discreet 4th player in the world qualifies for his third final at the five Grand Slams. It remains to be seen if he will be able to prevent Novak Djokovic from winning his 23rd Grand Slam title. Another story...
" READ ALSO At Roland-Garros, Ruud is no longer a supporting role
The Flops
The whistles of shame against Djokovic
The divisive Novak Djokovic will never be unanimous. And it does not always cure its popularity, it is true. Nevertheless, this does not justify the attitude of the Parisian public on Friday. He whistled the Serb when he took the famous toilet break at the beginning of the second set. This is allowed by the regulations but considered anti-gambling by part of the public. The Parisian crowd cheered Alcaraz again, admittedly diminished, when he returned from his toilet break at the beginning of the fourth set. An undeniable difference in treatment. But where the crowd was above all was when he booed the Serb when the latter greeted the crowd after qualifying for the final. This made the two-time winner say: "I don't care, I keep winning". The best answer to its many detractors.
" READ ALSO Roland-Garros: "I don't care, I continue to win," squeaks Djokovic, impervious to the whistles of the public
Alcaraz's cramps that spoiled the party
While the duel between Alcaraz and Djokovic was in full swing with a spectacle of beauty, the match changed physiognomy when the Spaniard injured his right calf, at the beginning of the third set, on a movement a priori harmless at 1-1. His opponent immediately came to his side to take news. The damage was done. The beginning of the end for the Spaniard, who will only score one game in the last sets, and for the central audience an immense frustration.
Alcaraz's honesty didn't pay off
Having just lost the game in the third set when he had his physical discomfort, the Spaniard indicated that he had a cramp and asked for a medical timeout. This is forbidden, because the cramp is not considered an injury. As a result, he lost the next game, the third of the set, on the green carpet. He found himself leading 2-1, without a fight. And the public, obviously little or not aware of this complex regulation, scolded when the referee announced the score of 2-1 in favor of the Serb... "Mr. Alcaraz sought medical treatment for cramps. This treatment must intervene at the change of side, Mr. Alcaraz concedes all the points" of the third game, explained the referee Aurélie Tourte who applied this regulation to the letter. Had Alcaraz declared an injury at the time of his unfortunate support, he would have been entitled to immediate medical timeout. Honesty doesn't always pay off...
Read alsoRoland-Garros: Why Alcaraz lost a game on the green carpet at the time of his cramp
The Ghost of Zverev
Returning from afar a year after his serious ankle injury at the same stage of the competition against Rafael Nadal, Alexander Zverev saw his career come to an abrupt end against Casper Ruud. The German ran out of fuel in the engine and he never found the solution to disturb (a little) the so solid Norwegian. Incredibly ineffective behind his first balls (55% of points won only) accumulating faults (37), the former world number 2 was disarmed. Sad epilogue.